“Everyone knows Paris is where the fashion is.” This is among the first things that Ja’Marr Chase says to me. And, well, it would only seem right that our man of the hour be at this epicenter of high fashion culture too. Even over a sporadically choppy Zoom call, such becomes evident within thirty seconds of talking to the Cincinnati Bengals superstar wide receiver. When they speak of effortless cool, of those rare few who possess that unquantifiable it-factor, ‘Here it is in the (pixelated) flesh’ is all I can think.

Yes, this might be colored by knowledge of the man’s game. He exists on a short list of the very best receivers in the world. To be here is to truly live amongst the stars.The sexiest position in the nation’s most popular sport, and the embodiment of superiority which scratches that antiquated section of our lizard brain right where it itches. “You can scout the world, go and find the top man you can to defend me,” Chase seems to scream through his in-game prowess. “Go and find another one to double-team me. I will outrun them; I will out jump them.” It’s enough to send chills throughout all of Southwest Ohio.

But the experience of talking to Ja’Marr Chase is not that of dealing with unmitigated bravado. The confidence needed to thrive doing what he does is pierced by a genuine gratuitousness. A cerebral edge laced with calming affability. In conversation he seems every bit the type who can withstand the blows of the NFL’s best safeties, just to immediately bounce up with a smile and hit the griddy. It is no wonder that he is already, seamlessly, bouncing between the world of the modern gladiator and the runway luminary.

When I catch him, Chase is indeed on his inaugural trip to Paris, enjoying all the festivities that fashion week has to offer. He has just come back from another swanky event, rubbing shoulders with fashion’s most influential wheelers and dealers—still sporting shades and a blazer from the evening’s fare. “It was always something I wanted to get into,” Chase says of his foray into this world, “but I didn’t always know where I wanted to start.” All but starting at Europe’s most vaunted showcase of models and designers might be a bit overwhelming for your average Zoomer from the New Orleans suburbs. But then again, so too would helping lead the rejuvenation of a once downtrodden football franchise as a rookie.

To say Chase exploded onto the scene probably isn’t doing him justice. That first year saw him become the recipient of the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, an All-Pro second-team selection and a Pro Bowl appearance. Oh, he also helped lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since George Bush Sr. had given his inaugural address.

Now entering year four in the NFL, 24-year-old Chase has unquestionably solidified himself as amongst the very best receivers the world has to offer, alongside the likes of Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and CeeDee Lamb, to name a few. Opinions may vary as to the exact order of their greatness, but the group that sets the highest standard is small, and Chase found a seat at the table as soon as he walked through the doors. He happily talks about his journey to the pros, of the dream turned reality presented by his NFL tenure and the focus instilled in him by his father, Jimmy Chase. “I grew into it at a late age,” Chase admits. “But once I grew a passion for it, my dad pushed me the right way. He was always on me making sure I was at practice...he made sure I wasn’t doing no foolishness.”

That work ethic, the constant commitment to excellence needed—both on the field and off—to thrive in the NFL, is one easily lost on the viewing public. “There’s a lot of misunderstandings in football right now,” Chase says. “From the outside looking in, there’s just so much more to it. I didn’t realize that until I got to the NFL. It’s really a job for us. We love it, it’s a game, but it’s definitely a job.” Maybe this speaks to just how untroublesome superiority on the turf seems for the very best receivers, so often evading the carnage that befalls lesser athletic specimens. But in talking to Chase, a true picture of the labor behind the highlights begins to materialize, and not only in discussions around football.

In our conversation oscillating between discussions of life on the gridiron and in the Parisian studios, a strange phenomenon emerges: the football player melds into the aspiring fashion impresario. Tonally and spiritually, the worlds no longer occupy their antipodal corners of the culture. “One of my friends, she dresses me sometimes,” Chase says earnestly, with an air of athletic seriousness. “Before I came to her to ask if she would help me, I would watch her dress people. Watch her work.” In these moments of trait-affirming candor, you are listening to a man describe life in the film room—embodying the consummate student of the game that is always in search of the next piece to add to his arsenal. Even in discussion of his fellow NFL pros, the parallels become staggering. “Let’s use Jamal Adams for reference,” Chase says. “He went to LSU and I went to LSU. And when he was there, I was still in high school. Watching him grow up and become this fashion icon in this new world, he was somebody that I first started to watch.”

All of this seems to affirm something about the highest achievers this world has to offer. About the inherent focus and drive that propels success. “I guess I try to do that with anything I do,” Chase says upon reflection. “Any task at hand, or that I have on my mind, I try to have straight tunnel vision on it.” Chase’s true incursion into the world of design came in a fashion typical for the charismatic wide-out: with a viral interview. “That’s actually a funny story,” Chase recalls. “It happened with a simple interview like this. A reporter just asked me, ‘Are you open?’ and my answer was, ‘I’m always f’ing open.’ 7-Eleven seen it and then they reached out to my team. We built out a base from there.” The Always Open x Ja’Marr Chase 7Collection was born, and so, too, was the entryway into a new dream world with further mountains to scale.

Ja’Marr Chase comes to us with the loftiest of expectations. The kind thrusted upon those counted on to perform their craft at the highest possible level, week in and week out, in front of millions of viewers. The Bengals come into next season with great ambitions of their own, while the still-young star continues to learn how best to navigate the tribulations (as well as delectation) that is afforded to those select few under his circumstances.

Would you know it though? Hardly. Not by his tenor nor his calm and perspective. And certainly not by his track record thus far. On the pressures that come with professional sports and life more generally: “You can’t look at football like that,” he says, “because then you’re messing with your head too much. You have to be free. That’s the only way. I try to keep a steady mind and a steady heart with all of this.” So, as it pertains to this next chapter, the question as to whether Ja’Marr Chase will find success here would seem already written in the stars.

Photographed by Matthieu Delbreuve

Styled by Guillem Chanzá

Written by Jake Carlisi

Grooming: Khela at Call My Agent

Flaunt Film: Marquese Surrel 

Flaunt Film Editor: Camryn Spratt

Stylist Assistant: Carla Ruiz

Special Thanks: Jaleska "JMulan" Holman, Marquisha Corley, Torianna Breaux, and Whitney Talks